TOKYO: Currency traders moved into the yen in Asia on Thursday as weak data from the US, Japan and China dented investor confidence in the state of the global economy.
The dollar sank to 101.87 yen in Tokyo, from 102.31 yen on Wednesday in New York where it won support from minutes of the Federal Reserve
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DUNEDIN: England carved effortlessly into New Zealand's huge first innings lead as they reached 139 without loss at tea on the fourth day of the first Test at University Oval on Saturday.
Captain Alastair Cook was on 64 with Nick Compton on 60 as they made light of the New Zealand attack on the friendly wicket.
New Zealand resumed the day at 402 for seven and declared at 460 for nine to hold a convincing 293-run lead. In a whirlwind opening session, New Zealand cracked 58 runs in less than nine overs as Brendon McCullum raced from 44 to 74 and Bruce Martin advanced from 17 to 41.
McCullum declared after the dismissal of the overnight pair to give his bowlers more than an hour before lunch to attack the England line up who had folded for 167 in their first innings. But the conditions were weighted heavily in favour of the batsmen who progressed cautiously to 58 in 22 overs before lunch and then added a further 81 runs in 32 overs during the middle session.
Their only moment of concern came when Compton flicked at a Tim Southee delivery heading down the legside, sparking a confident appeal from the New Zealanders. However, both the appeal and the subsequent review were turned down.
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GALLE: Lahiru Thirimanne cracked a maiden century to put Sri Lanka in command on the second day of the opening Test against Bangladesh in Galle on Saturday. The left-hander, playing his ninth Test, hit 10 fours in his unbeaten 113 as Sri Lanka reached 461-4 in their first innings at lunch after adding 100 runs to their overnight total of 361-3.
Thirimanne, 74 overnight, completed his hundred when he lofted left-arm spinner Elias Sunny over mid-on for two runs.
Dinesh Chandimal, dropped on eight by Abul Hasan at fine-leg off paceman Shahadat Hossain, was unbeaten on 55 at the break. He has so far added 94 for the unfinished fifth-wicket stand with Thirimanne.
Bangladesh seamer Hasan, playing his second match, got a maiden Test wicket when he held a return catch to remove Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews early in the morning.
Mathews, who could add just two runs to his overnight score of 25, put on 62 for the fourth wicket with Thirimanne.
Kumar Sangakkara put Sri Lanka in a strong position on Friday when he cracked an impressive 142 for his 31st Test century. Openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (54) and Dimuth Karunaratne (41) were the other main scorers. |
The Today's News |
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DUNEDIN: England carved effortlessly into New Zealand's huge first innings lead as they reached 139 without loss at tea on the fourth day of the first Test at University Oval on Saturday.
Captain Alastair Cook was on 64 with Nick Compton on 60 as they made light of the New Zealand attack on the friendly wicket.
New Zealand resumed the day at 402 for seven and declared at 460 for nine to hold a convincing 293-run lead. In a whirlwind opening session, New Zealand cracked 58 runs in less than nine overs as Brendon McCullum raced from 44 to 74 and Bruce Martin advanced from 17 to 41.
McCullum declared after the dismissal of the overnight pair to give his bowlers more than an hour before lunch to attack the England line up who had folded for 167 in their first innings. But the conditions were weighted heavily in favour of the batsmen who progressed cautiously to 58 in 22 overs before lunch and then added a further 81 runs in 32 overs during the middle session.
Their only moment of concern came when Compton flicked at a Tim Southee delivery heading down the legside, sparking a confident appeal from the New Zealanders. However, both the appeal and the subsequent review were turned down.
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BLOEMFONTEIN: Since Gary Kirsten took over as South African coach in June 2011 the country's Test team has risen relentlessly to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings. The performances of the one-day side, though, have been patchy at best.
A five-match series against Pakistan, starting at Chevrolet Park here Sunday, marks a change of focus for the Proteas, who have slipped to fourth place in the rankings for the 50-over format.
Pakistan are sixth on a tightly-bunched table.
Kirsten said South Africa could play as many as 20 one-day internationals before their next Test series, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October and November.
"It's nice to have an extended period of one-day internationals," he said. "This is an important period for the ODI team."
Of immediate concern for South Africa is the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June, the team's next major engagement after the Pakistan series.
The country's consistent failure to win big tournaments is one of the issues that Kirsten has pledged to address.
Although South Africa have a less than stellar one-day record of 10 wins and eight losses under Kirsten, the coach is not over-concerned because the international schedule has dictated an emphasis on five-day cricket.
"We have had a lot of Test cricket," he said.
Nor was he concerned about a lop-sided 95-run defeat in a Twenty20 international at Centurion last Sunday, which he dismissed as a "one-off" game, irrelevant to the one-day challenge.
South Africa were beaten 2-1 at home by New Zealand in their most recent one-day series after winning both Tests against the Black Caps by an innings.
Pakistan shape up as a bigger threat with players such as Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar -- all of whom missed their side's recent 3-0 Test series defeat -- adding experience and skill to the squad.
The Pakistanis seem to have most of their bases covered, with a mix of quick-scoring batsmen and a well-balanced bowling attack, while the fielding in the Twenty20 match was of a high standard.
South Africa, though, are likely to be a more organised team than that which lost to New Zealand -- and a great deal stronger than the T20 side -- with stars such as Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Test captain Graeme Smith returning to the squad.
Steyn will be rested for the first match, though, and Morkel is doubtful because of a hamstring injury.
Leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis will not be in action as he is being rested as part of a programme to extend the career of the 37-year-old.
Squads
South Africa: AB de Villiers (capt/wkt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Imran Farhat, Abdur Rehman
Fixtures
March
10: First one-day international, Bloemfontein (day)
15: Second one-day international, Centurion (day-night)
17: Third one-day international, Johannesburg (day)
21: Fourth one-day international, Durban (day)
24: Fifth one-day international, Benoni (day).
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